Post ID: 550

Hello everyone!

We are excited to announce that the Tanzania Nursing Scholarship Program has been selected to receive a grant from Dining For Women. Please visit their website page for our program. The Dining for Women grant will provide funding for 35 students over two years, over and above the number of students we would otherwise sponsor.

This grant is a supplement to our current program. We will continue raising money for the 27 students we currently sponsor at KCMC and the Tukuyu School of Nursing. We will be returning to Tanzania in February and will select 17 new students at two additional schools. We are currently exploring partnerships with nursing schools in Tanga (on the Indian Ocean coast) and Mbeya (in Southern Tanzania). We will let you know our progress. We want to thank all of you for your support and encouragement!

I would like to tell you a little about Dining for Women:

Dining for Women is a giving circle. Through members’ combined dinner donations, this organization funds international programs for women living in extreme poverty. By educating its members about the circumstances of women in some of the poorest countries in the world, they become agents of change. For more information, visit here.

And now, on to our student adventures. The students have been between terms and their emails below reflect their experiences during their visits home. I am very happy to share with you some of the interesting emails we have received.

A third year student at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC), writes about experiences during her holiday:

Hellow friends. It is my hope that you doing fine with you activities,back to my side i m also fine especially in my studies.I was in holiday for seven weeks and the holiday was fine because i learned many things ,but now i m school. During the holiday the first three weeks i was help my mother different activities such as cultivation and four weeks i went to health center (dispensary) for learning,I learned a lot of things and i was very interested to work in the village because most of people in the village does not know the importance of their health,environment hygiene,about family planning,and the importance the pregnancy women to attend reproductive child health,so i was tried to educate people especially pregnancy women about the importance of attending reproductive child health(RCH),also was talk about danger sign during pregnancy and about family planning and its importance in their health and also i counseled about the importance of HIV TEST DURING PREGNANCY(HUMAN IMMUNE VIRUS) So i was very interested.Now we are in class for two weeks but this is the last week of block study and the next week starting clinical rotation for two weeks .In third year we are five subject such as MIDWIFERY,BIOCHEMISTY,PARASAITOLOGY,MEDICAL AND SURGICAL NURSING AND COMMUNITY NURSING.

Lastly i would like to say thank you for supporting me.THANK YOU

Here is an update from a second year student at KCMC.

Hallow friends,I hope your all well to my side I’m fine.we are now back to school and we are now second year so I thank God for that. During the holiday I was happy to meet with my mum and other relatives but in spite of that I was interested to meet one case which concern about burn injury,It was on 20th of September my aunt was cooking and accidentally her leg was burnt then I was the one to be called so as to give help in first aid, then first I started by cooling the burn area by using the cold water so as to stop burning but my relatives said that they always put table sugar, eggs and kerosine.Then I started to give them the health education that those things which they always put they increase the chance for micro organism to grow and make the wound to be infected so I was happy because after few days my aunt’s leg was in good condition and they said they have lean new knowledge .

Now we are continuing with block study and we have started to study midwifery in which we have started the female pelvic,which it contains the four types of bones those are; innominent bone,pubis bone,sacrum,and coccyx.The female pelvic it has got many function which are;It allow movement ,it allow to sit ,it protect the internal organs of the pelvis,and is the passage of the fetus during delivery so the pelvic contribute much to the delivery process .At this time we have just started to lean and I Hope we will lean more and become competent in midwifery.

Have a nice day,THANK YOU.

And another student:

Hallo friends,

How are you doing, But it is my hope that you are doing fine, back on my side I am doing fine especially in my studies.I have been in breather for six weeks, but now I have already come back to continue with my studies. Also this time I am a second year student nurse.I have enjoyed a lot staying with my parents and other member of the community. I have learned about life of the people related to their health.I have interested a lot because I got a chance to advice and providing health education in my family members and other member of the community through discussion, questions and answers.Through this in my family and in the community I got a chance to teach all members about keeping environment clean and self also keeping the whole body in good hygienic condition by using properly constructed pit latrines or flush toilet, always washing hands using clean running water and soap before cooking or eating and after coming back from a toilet.I told them that another way of improving our health is through eating a balanced diet, drinking clean water, and cleaning eating utensils. Not only that but also body hygiene.All members were interested and agree to follow those procedures for better achievement in the family and community at all because I have tell them the importance of good health.

THANKS.

Here is a second year student at KCMC School of Nursing:

Hallow friends

I hope your fine, on my side am doing fine and I continuing well with studies.Recently am at the school after coming back from home for leave. It was very enjoyable; I met with my friends, relatives and many other people.One day I visited at Mbulu district hospital mainly at Pediatric ward, there I met different children cases including malnutrition, pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and other conditions, But I was mainly interested to met those with malnutrition conditions, there I found ten children’s with kwashiorkor and three children’s marasmus.Those with kwashiorkor they were mainly presented with the following Weight loss, stunted growth, peripheral edema, Lethargy, and moon face, and those with marasmus they were presented with Growth retardation, muscle wasting, Lethargy, vomiting, awake, and old faces.I do advice parents on how to take care of this children’s by; preventing hypoglycemia, Hypothermia, Dehydration and preventing infection because they have an impaired immunity.Also I advised to give the children’s well balanced diet and nutritious

Our next email comes from a second year student at Tukuyu School of Nursing. She is an orphan and very protective of her younger sister. In the email below she refers to “parents” – that would be her aunt and uncle who are her guardians.

Hellow friend,

It’s my hope that your are all time and your are proceeding well with your daily activities . Back to my side I am also fine and I am proceeding well with my daily activities Glory to God who keeps me alive everyday . The aim is just to greet you as well as to tell you how I spend my holiday . I real enjoyed a lot my holiday which started on 29th Sept 2013 which now is getting to the End . I liked to do some practises in the hospital but it was hard tor me because I am for away from the hospital . So I decided to stay at home so as to help my parents some activities . The first week I helped my parents to do little works like teaching water which is a big problem in our village , doing cleanliness, cooking and all other activities which a woman is supposed to do . As I am the eldest in my family I have to show an example so as my young to copy from me . After finishing my daily activities sometimes I sat down and take my basic nursing care book which is written by PAULINUS SANGA so as to memorize the procedures which I was Taught by our teachers and sometimes I sat down and watch movies . I am very interested by Japanese and Chinese movies than Tanzania movies . I am doing this for refreshment because at school I never sat at dining hall and watch television. I spent most of my time at class and clinical area and if am tired I just sat on my bed and listening music from my phone or sleeping. The second week I started to visit my relatives as well as my friends who are far away from my village . I visited my grand father and his family who was very glad to saw me and to heard that I have already completed first years and after reopening I am entering second year . He encouraged me to study as hard as I can because education is the father and mother who have remained . Also education will help me to take care for young sister . I promised him that I will never let him down. He was very gland also to heard that I am sponsored and he told me to pass his thanks to you and to tell you that he has nothing to pay you than praying for you so as to have long and blessed live . I also visited one of my friend in that place . she was seriously sick suffering from malaria . I felt very pitful for her. She was on quinine tablets 600 mg tds for five days. I encouraged her to eat foods with sugar as quinine has tendency of lowering blood glucose level. Unfortunately enough after two days my friend passed away . It was a very hard time for me and her parents .I attended the funnel and I stayed there till we buried her and completing everything concerning with funnel . After that I get back to my home place . The third week I was helping my parents to clear the farms as the rain season is nearly to came. We did this work for almost one week and half. The remaining days I was just preparing my self ready to go back at school . Thanks God that I have came to school on time and thanks to you because you are the one who helped me to come on time at school, be blessed . It’s my hope that your are all time and your are proceeding well with your daily activities . Back to my side I am also fine and I am proceeding well with my daily activities Glory to God who keeps me alive everyday .

The next email also comes from a second year student at the Tukuyu School of Nursing:

Hope that you are okey! On my side I’m okey. I thank God that I have came back again to school from our breather. Dear friends I like to tell you that I have enjoyed my breather with my family members. I used my breather to help my parents in various activities like irigation of vegetable garden,also putting organic manure and harvesting vegetable for home use and for sale.

Sometime,I used my time to find firewood in the forest with my young sisters for home use where we were cutting dry trees. In the forest I found some people cutting down trees which aren’t dry. I advised them to avoid such behaviour because it can cause environmental degradation which may affect their nutritional status due to the lack of rainfall,which will lead to poor crop production,they understood me.

Dear friends,I’m so happy to back again for my studies,I wish to perform well.

ALL THE BEST

Again, thank you for your encouragement and support.

Sincerely,

Linda van Werkhooven, President

Tanzania Nursing Scholarship Program, Inc.